Darren Sharper needs to stop talking

Posted by Mike Florio on March 5, 2012, 7:41 PM EST

Getty Images

Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has worked as a guest analyst for NFL Network, the TV operation owned and operated by the league. But Sharper may never get another invitation again, if he continues to openly dispute the findings that the NFL already has made regarding the bounty system that the Saints used from 2009 through 2011.

It started on Friday, when Sharper told NFL.com that the Saints’ bounty system didn’t pay players for hits that injured opponents — even though the announcement of the NFL’s finding plainly states in the second paragraph: “The league’s investigation determined that this improper ‘Pay for Performance’ program included ‘bounty’ payments to players for inflicting injuries on opposing players that would result in them being removed from a game.”

Sharper was at it again on Monday, telling 97.5 The Fanatic in Philly that Sharper objects to the use of the term “bounty” because it implies ill intentions. “Saying that we were trying to maim guys or try to cart a guy off is just totally ridiculous,” Sharper said, which implies that he believes the league’s investigation is “just totally ridiculous,” since that’s precisely what the league concluded.

Sharper also contradicts the league’s findings regarding the question of whether head coach Sean Payton knew about the bounty system. “I don’t think Coach Peyton had anything or didn’t know anything about that. Coach Peyton didn’t have any idea what we were doing,” Sharper said. And then Sharper contradicted himself on this point in a subsequent interview with WWL in Louisiana. “Was it overseen and controlled by the coaching staff?” Sharper said. “Yes it was.”

He continues to insist that there was no reward for injuring players, despite the league’s findings.

“This was something that the players came up with and which we wanted to give guys the extra motivation and give guys the extra reward off making big plays in big games,” Sharper told WWL. “And those big plays included sacks, interceptions, scoring touchdowns on defense, things that we did throughout my time there that allowed us to win in the fashion that we won. No way possible did we come into the meeting room before games and say if a guy hurts this player here on their team, their best player, their quarterback, whoever it may be we’re gonna reward that guy for doing that. At no time was that stated in any of the meetings that I was a part of in the New Orleans Saints organization.”

Again, that flies in the face of the league’s findings.

Sharper also takes issue with the dollars involved. “Someone also threw the number out there, $50,000,” Sharper said. “Are you kidding me? $50,000 on a bounty on someone’s head? That has to be ridiculous. First of all, I want to know the guy that’s gonna have that much money they’re gonna pull out their own pocket to pay a guy for just making plays during a game. That’s just totally nonsense and ridiculous.”

Yes, the stuff that he calls “totally nonsense and ridiculous” comes from the NFL’s findings.

Perhaps most troubling is Sharper’s desire to publicize the name of the person who told the league what really was happening, after the coaches and players who had been questioned by the league successfully had stonewalled NFL security.

“We had a family in that room and whatever we did within that room should have stayed in that room,” Sharper told 97.5 The Fanatic. His words to WWL could be regarded as a bit more sinister, especially since he believes the entire situation arose from a former employee’s desire to exact revenge on the Saints.

“Someone that was formerly hired and that was formerly working for the Saints and that was relieved of his duties has a vendetta,” Sharper told WWL. “And they’re trying to get back and is upset about the fact he was let go by the Saints and is trying to make an issue out of something that was in-house and something that we did and was no ill intent in what we did and was just about playing football but now they’re trying to make it into an issue to put a black mark on the Saints organization.”

Sharper possibly is rooting for a vendetta against the person with the vendetta.

“I believe his name will come out,” Sharper said. “I have the name and I’ve been informed of who we think that possibly is the guy that came out and become the quote-unquote snitch, but it’s not [former director of security Geoffrey] Santini. . . . It’s another guy that I believe will come out at a later date.”

Apart from whether the league is inclined to tell one of its employees to exercise his free speech rights only in a manner that is consistent with what the league has determined to be reality, the NFL would be wise to inform Sharper that the last thing anyone needs is a Steve Bartman-style incident, with rabid Saints fans threatening action against whoever is viewed as being responsible for killing the Super Bowl buzz more than two years after the fact. The fact that Sharper even knows the name is alarming, and the league should move swiftly to ensure that no one blurts it out or leaks it anonymously to the media.

On Saturday, we explained the potential impact of dishonesty on the effectiveness of an internal investigation. In such contexts, the only thing worse than prevarication (why don’t you look it up instead of playing another round of MW3?) is retaliation. If the league tolerates any effort to “out” the “quote-unquote snitch,” the league can forget about ever being able to persuade anyone in the future to do the right thing when rules are being broken in a locker room that would otherwise govern itself by the Golden (Nugget) Rule.

UPDATE 10:02 p.m. ET: A prior version of this item described Sharper as an analyst with NFL Network, in reliance upon the manner in which he was introduced by WWL. Sharper instead served only a guest analyst on NFL Network last week. We apologize for the error.

Intent to harm is irrelevant! The Saints broke the rules, lied and knowingly misled the league. It doesn’t matter if the bounty was for an interception or for a player being carted off the field…all bounties are illegal. People need to keep that in mind and not get caught up in the irrelevant details.

truthserum4u says:Mar 5, 2012 7:54 PM

I may be wrong, and very well could be with all of the stories out there, but I thought I read the league had as many as four people confirm this took place. And why do people assume it was a player? Could very well be other team employees who witnessed this in the locker room or at the teams training facilities. They wouldn’t have the same motivation to keep it in-house that a player would.

billybatty says:Mar 5, 2012 7:58 PM

For sharper the NFL Network is gonna be the not for long network.

skinsfantom says:Mar 5, 2012 8:01 PM

He’s just speaking his mind,opinion. is he not allowed to do that anymore?

truthserum4u says:Mar 5, 2012 8:02 PM

@ lombardihero

Right back at ya.

Rodgers is going to kill the Vikings for years to come, but in no way do I want to see him out of action because he has a concussion.

You become the best by beating the best. You beat the best by employing the best who play their best. Not by intentionally injuring the other team’s best!

ascensionparish says:Mar 5, 2012 8:02 PM

So in other words, Sharper needs to stop contradicting a media agenda.

He is a liar. Remember the twitter exchange between Sharper and Shianco when Sharper referred to Favre’s ankle and said “X marks the spot”? While that isn’t proof that he was paid for injuring a player, it certainly shows he had an intent to do so.

effjohntaylornorelation says:Mar 5, 2012 8:05 PM

Sharper’s attitude may be rooted back in his college days while labeled a “student athelete.” What I mean is Sharper may have been more athelete than student. Money does not increase your inteligence. Without football I believe a large portion of NFL players would find themselves in prison. That being said, I cannot wait for the season to get started so we can get back to what we enjoy and not be subjected to ignorant and contradictory pontifications from former “student atheletes.”

mrizzo44 says:Mar 5, 2012 8:05 PM

Yeah, they should fire him. Can you imagine the nerve of that guy, trying to minimize the damage from this scandal? Doesn’t he know that the Court of Public Opinion has already convicted him? Where does he get off???????

jessethegreat says:Mar 5, 2012 8:05 PM

I won’t condone what happened in New England with spygate, but at least they accepted their punishment. I understand that “others are likely doing it too”, but the Saints are the ones that got caught.

The NFL has to make an example out of them. The Saints are the face of “bounties” right now and they are going to be the hardest hit. They are where they’re at because of their decisions to allow players to operate how they did.

Can any of you draw? I’d love to see an animated version of Gregg Williams as “Dawg the Bounty Hunter”. You could draw Sharper and all of his cohorts in the background. Draw Big Tom Benson right next to him as the big chested Buxom.

why should he shut up just cuz hes standin up for his old team and i caint remember who said it but it was true if there was a bounty dont you think that the defense would actually be playin better and that lil snitch there talkin bout probably doesnt even exsist its just goodell tryin to make the saints think their screwed and to make them admit it but never the less this is football injuries are part of the game every single player knows the risk of gettin injured when they step on the field especially the best players cuz they know they have a bigger target on then until i see video proof of money bein exchanged its bogus and even if they do have it its a contact sport it happens they wanna use money to motivate each other hey watever works for you i think goodell should be fined and fired and aressted for ruinin the sport of football get off the saints back and deal with the players dealin drugs and gettin duis thats more important than this

Sharper was in the locker room. I want to hear what he has to say. He states (effectively) that there was an incentive program in place which did not involve hurting other players.

His statement that it was supported by the coaching staff clearly refers to members of the staff not including the head coach. That doesn’t mean that the head coach was involved. He wasn’t preparing a brief for court.

Darren Sharper is clearly not ready for the verbal pugilistics which lawyers thrive on. So, he should stop talking?

His words are not in sync with the NFL’s findings? So, he should stop talking?

Couldn’t disagree more. He’s saying what he believes & if he’s right, he’s as tough off the field as he was on it.

The real problem here is not Sharper but the conflict of interest between the NFL network & the NFL. The NFL network would do well to respect this & encourage him to talk more – not less.

I don’t know how the League can justify coming down hard on the Saints when we’ve all been irritably deluged with the claims from the vikequeef toads of a league sanctioned conspiracy to keep the vikequeers out of the SB.

Way to insult your fanbase. If they don’t know the definition of a word, it must be because they are “playing another round of MW3?”

And what if Sharper is right? What if the NFL is wrong in their investigation?

I’m not saying they are or aren’t, I’m saying that Sharper is telling the truth or what he perceives is the truth. If he *IS* right, then why shouldn’t he challenge the authority figures in charge that are either lying or not doing a correct job?

I’m the furthest from a Saints fan but if someone is right, then it sounds wrong to condemn them just because a higher authority has found otherwise.

bouwel92 says:
Mar 5, 2012 8:10 PM ////////////
Good God, I almost had a seizure reading this guys post. Learn to use punctuation and maybe we’ll take you more seriously, instead of just looking like an ignorant Saints fan. As for Sharper? He should be dealt with like my employer deals with liars. Doesn’t matter what you did before you lied, now you are fired for lying.

I dont know what im feeling more, frustration, or the desire to laugh. I’ll laugh.

Hahah this guy is great! Is he serious? If the country were an idiocracy this guy would lead the idionce, as the idiot of these united way airlines states of Amerricka, then he would say something like, the states i just found for the first time on this thing called a map.

Please god let this human being never, ever give us his ‘opinion’ on history or past wars. Proven facts are no match for the Sharper Image. Hah!

@bouwel92 seriously??? you think its ok for someone to pay for hurting someone on a football field?? thats just messed up not to mention probably criminal as well. I AM old school football lover and enjoy a hard hitting game, that being said there is absolutely no place for bounties and it shows an extreme lack of sportsmanship which you obviously never cared about to begin with.

sarro5 says:Mar 5, 2012 9:57 PM

bouwel92 says:
Mar 5, 2012 8:10 PM
why should he shut up just cuz hes standin up for his old team and i caint remember who said it but it was true if there was a bounty dont you think that the defense would actually be playin better and that lil snitch there talkin bout probably doesnt even exsist its just goodell tryin to make the saints think their screwed and to make them admit it but never the less this is football injuries are part of the game every single player knows the risk of gettin injured when they step on the field especially the best players cuz they know they have a bigger target on then until i see video proof of money bein exchanged its bogus and even if they do have it its a contact sport it happens they wanna use money to motivate each other hey watever works for you i think goodell should be fined and fired and aressted for ruinin the sport of football get off the saints back and deal with the players dealin drugs and gettin duis thats more important than this

I wonder if he’d be doing all this talking if he was still trying to play in the league. I bet no, but calling you’re current employer’s findings “totally nonsense and ridiculous” could have an unrealized affect. Got to love when these guys get infront of a mic.

randomjim says:Mar 5, 2012 9:58 PM

He’s just speaking his mind,opinion. is he not allowed to do that anymore?
==================================== Try telling your boss he is lying & see how far your career goes.

Darren has always been very immature. I wish he would stop talking. What does he think he’s going to achieve with this.

omniscient48 says:Mar 5, 2012 10:10 PM

“I may be wrong, and very well could be with all of the stories out there, but I thought I read the league had as many as four people confirm this took place. And why do people assume it was a player? Could very well be other team employees who witnessed this in the locker room or at the teams training facilities. They wouldn’t have the same motivation to keep it in-house that a player would.”

I think it was Mike McQueary.

dpinchot says:Mar 5, 2012 10:11 PM

Think back six weeks to the days after the Giants beat the 49ers in the NFC championship game, in part because San Francisco return man Kyle Williams bungled one punt that yielded a touchdown and fumbled a second that set up New York’s game-winning field goal in overtime. In the locker room afterward, two Giants special teams players boasted they knew chances were especially good they could separate Williams from the football – and maybe his senses, too.

“The thing is, we knew he had four concussions, so that was our biggest thing, was to take him outta the game,” said Jacquian Williams, who forced the second fumble.

“He’s had a lot of concussions,” echoed Devin Thomas, who recovered both fumbles. “We were just like, ‘We gotta put a hit on that guy.’

cags777 says:Mar 5, 2012 10:12 PM

Any respect I had for Darren Sharper is now out the window. What a gutless turd.

bouwel92 says:
Mar 5, 2012 8:10 PM
why should he shut up just cuz hes standin up for his old team and i caint remember who said it but it was true if there was a bounty dont you think that the defense would actually be playin better and that lil snitch there talkin bout probably doesnt even exsist its just goodell tryin to make the saints think their screwed and to make them admit it but never the less this is football injuries are part of the game every single player knows the risk of gettin injured when they step on the field especially the best players cuz they know they have a bigger target on then until i see video proof of money bein exchanged its bogus and even if they do have it its a contact sport it happens they wanna use money to motivate each other hey watever works for you i think goodell should be fined and fired and aressted for ruinin the sport of football get off the saints back and deal with the players dealin drugs and gettin duis thats more important than this——————————————————————-
Anytime that you can go for that long without a period…it’s time to buy a crib.

bouwel92 says:
Mar 5, 2012 8:10 PM
why should he shut up just cuz hes standin up for his old team and i caint remember who said it but it was true if there was a bounty dont you think that the defense would actually be playin better and that lil snitch there talkin bout probably doesnt even exsist its just goodell tryin to make the saints think their screwed and to make them admit it but never the less this is football injuries are part of the game every single player knows the risk of gettin injured when they step on the field especially the best players cuz they know they have a bigger target on then until i see video proof of money bein exchanged its bogus and even if they do have it its a contact sport it happens they wanna use money to motivate each other hey watever works for you i think goodell should be fined and fired and aressted for ruinin the sport of football get off the saints back and deal with the players dealin drugs and gettin duis thats more important than this——————————————————————–You can almost smell the crawdaddys boilin’ in the background, can’t you? Bouwel92 sitting on a cypress knee with his new-fangled laptop . He is now ready to impart his knowledge via the internet.

nps6724 says:Mar 5, 2012 10:33 PM

Sharper also contradicts the league’s findings regarding the question of whether head coach Sean Payton knew about the bounty system. “I don’t think Coach Peyton had anything or didn’t know anything about that. Coach Peyton didn’t have any idea what we were doing,” Sharper said. And then Sharper contradicted himself on this point in a subsequent interview with WWL in Louisiana. “Was it overseen and controlled by the coaching staff?” Sharper said. “Yes it was.”

—————————————–

That’s not a contradiction; “the coaching staff” consists of more than a dozen people. And it’s widely-known that Sean Payton gave Gregg Williams free reign over the defense.

And until we actually SEE THE EVIDENCE the NFL has, it’s irresponsible of you to say Sharper is contradicting their findings. What if their findings aren’t completely accurate? What if the Saints *did* have a bounty system that *didn’t* include intent to injure?

As a lawyer, I’m sure you know judges and juries aren’t always correct in their verdicts and rulings. So shouldn’t you wait to see the evidence before you hop on your soapbox?

@dpinchot exactly. Now, the 49ers should’ve know that was gonna happen and had someone else do the returns. Like, someone who had actually done them before. Barring that, they should’ve let the punts land where they may and stay out of the way.

The players know the risk and take a chance each time they go on that football field. Some players cross the line and and take cheap shoots, and that’s what gets them fined on Monday morning. Most players will play hard, and yes, try and knock another player out of the game. That’s is the game. Violent collisions and fear. Is it a wonder players pony up a few bucks to teammates who score big hits?

When a bad person hurts a good person and a good person even merely asks them to stop harming good people, what does a bad person do? They amp up their threats, their bad actions, their harm, they threaten the good people just trying to get by without bad people harmin them.

Darren Sharper, you are a bad person. A good person didnt threaten you, but you are so bad you threatened that good person because it merely displeases you or involves other bad people you know.

This is bad, this is very bad. Textbook definition of actions repeated hndreds of times over every day by bad people on good people that merely want them to stop being bad.

Darren Sharper, you have some explaining to do. You will have to say it to my back.

Darren Sharper speaks to y0u in love and peace from an alternate plane of reality not shared by the fondly entitled Commish. So sorry that he is not heard because he does not speak same lotus language as the honorable commish. May football men of goodwill will gladly say same and speak of events they see with own eye

eyeh8goodell says:Mar 6, 2012 12:20 AM

Yeah because the NFL and their “investigations” are the picture perfect example of integrity. Goodell burned the spygate tapes and tried sweeping it under the rug, only to have Matt Walsh throw egg on their face with his own secret stash. The biggest systematic cheating scandal since the Black Sox and all they hit the Pats with was a 1st round pick and a pocket change fine for a guy like Belichick making millions.

And all you have to do is watch the 2007 HBO Real Sports segment on concussions and the NFL to see how hard the league fought medical findings on the long term effects of concussions. They alienated any reputable medical institution during the course of their own “research” and their doctor went on record saying there was no medical evidence of any kind linking football hits to long term player health. It’s on youtube. The NFL is organized crime in drag.

Why wait 2 years later if the league thought bout this before we Saints are relevant now they want to crucify us for something every player try to do hurt the other team its footbal now us fans who wore paperbags for 40 years r the ones sufferin

Of course the name will come out. Hope you enjoyed your time in the nfl. “welcome to mcdonalds, may I take your order?”

grannyvi4 says:Mar 6, 2012 2:44 AM

Didn’t Williams already admit to this “mistake”, even though they “knew it was wrong”? In fact, he’s done the opposite of denying it — first, apologizing profusely and then promising never to do it again.

This, along with the resounding silence from the Saints coaches and players, rather than vehemently denying these allegations (with the exception of delusional Sharper), tells me the NFL probably has a fairly strong case.

I’m not sure why there’s confusion on this issue.

enx31 says:Mar 6, 2012 4:01 AM

“Someone that was formerly hired and that was formerly working for the Saints and that was relieved of his duties has a vendetta,” Sharper told WWL. “And they’re trying to get back and is upset about the fact he was let go ….”

———

Oh, now doesn’t this sound familiar… Ok clues.
– First name Eric.
– Now an ESPN analyst.
– So damn pasty white he looks like he always has the flu.

Exactly..He should just stop talking. He is contradicting what he said before..lol What an idiot

nps6724 says:Mar 6, 2012 9:25 AM

grannyvi4 says: Mar 6, 2012 2:44 AM

Didn’t Williams already admit to this “mistake”, even though they “knew it was wrong”? In fact, he’s done the opposite of denying it — first, apologizing profusely and then promising never to do it again.

This, along with the resounding silence from the Saints coaches and players, rather than vehemently denying these allegations (with the exception of delusional Sharper), tells me the NFL probably has a fairly strong case.

I’m not sure why there’s confusion on this issue.

———————————————

The Saints are 100% guilty…of having a bounty system, which simply means they were paid for performance. That DOES NOT mean they were paid to injure. That is not what a bounty means. IIRC Williams to the pay-for-performance end.

They very well could be guilty of being paid to injure, but I’ve yet to see actual evidence. If they were doing that, wouldn’t there be an inordinate amount of injured players coming out of their games?

Nothing wrong with what Sharper said. Blowing guys up is part of football. Thats one of the main reasons I watch. Who cares if its hurting them? The guys get compensated for the risk. I can work 10 years combined and not make the minimum salary. I don’t feel sorry for any player that gets hurt out there making a lot of money playing a game.